Keep Your Heat Pump A/C On Top of the Cincinnati Heat With Regular Maintenance

Your heat pump A/C works hard all summer keeping you comfortably cool, and staying on top of its maintenance will help it run better and use less electricity.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that a well-maintained heat pump uses up to 25 percent less electricity than one that’s neglected.

The most important maintenance step you can perform is checking the air filter monthly when you’re using the system routinely in the summer. This filter protects the parts inside the blower and when too much dirt builds, the airflow slows. It will take the heat pump longer to cool your home to the thermostat’s settings, driving up energy bills.

Dirty filters can cause other problems with your heat pump, like a heavy buildup of dust on the evaporator coil inside the blower. The dust insulates the coil and you run the risk of burning out the compressor that puts the refrigerant under pressure and sends it to the coil. When the coil is covered, the refrigerant can’t remove as much heat, and it returns to the compressor as a liquid, which harms it.

The second step in heat pump A/C maintenance is keeping the outdoor condenser clean. Turning it off and hosing it off occasionally will loosen the dirt and help the coil cool faster. The hot refrigerant from your home circulates through the coil and a fan pulls air over it. Just as with the evaporator coil, dirt slows the cooling process. Removing any vegetation near the condenser also improves ventilation.

The balance of the maintenance a heat pump requires should be performed by a licensed HVAC contractor. Professional maintenance includes:

Inspecting, cleaning and adjusting the parts

Lubricating the motors and electrical components

Checking the refrigerant level and the airflow

Assessing the ductwork’s tightness

Deep cleaning the evaporator and condenser coil

Calibrating the thermostat and verifying that the heat cycle won’t start when the heat pump is set for cooling